


Step Into the Sunlight (With Me)

by Indig0



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, exploring deviancy, light fluff, mostly just building a friendship, with the potential for a different relationship in the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 02:52:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17153933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: Connor and North both take their positions very seriously.  It's hard to switch off, to take time to explore their deviancy and get to know themselves.  To form a connection when they both have so much to do.  It might be worth taking the time, though.





	Step Into the Sunlight (With Me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kara_J](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kara_J/gifts).



> My Secret Santa gift to [Kara Jayne](http://tumblr.connorthdbh.com/)! I love writing these two separately, and it was fun to write them together. They both need a break, and I feel like they'd get along well post-revolution if they got to know each other a little better.

Since the revolution, androids came and went from the huge abandoned office building they’d claimed after Jericho blew up, usually without much notice. They were free, after all.

It was different though, when Connor showed up.

Markus had extended him an invitation to stay with them. He was one of them, had helped them win the revolution, had stood with them and visibly shown his support of his people. Markus trusted him.

That didn’t mean North had to.

“Do you need something?” she asked, leaning casually in the doorway leading inside, as if she were just resting there and not blocking the way.

“Yes, I was hoping to speak to Markus. Is he available?” Formal as usual, Connor stopped a respectful distance from North and straightened his tie.

“No.” She watched him for a second, then relented a bit. “He left for DC an hour ago.”

“Oh.” Connor’s rigid stance seemed to wilt a little. “Do you know when he intends to return?”

“He’s got a week booked solid with meetings, interviews, and press conferences. His schedule for the future is quickly filling. I couldn’t tell you when he’ll be back.” She heard the bitterness enter her voice, and hoped he would interpret it as hostility. She’d certainly given him enough reason to expect that.

“Are you leading Jericho in his absence, then?” His eyes strayed to look around, as if he hoped to see Simon or Josh lurking nearby.

“I told him I’d take care of things here. I don’t want to sit in formal meetings full of humans all day,” she growled, crossing her arms.

“They’re not all bad,” Connor said softly. “I’ve encountered a number of humans who display many admirable qualities. They’re brave, thoughtful, creative, caring… I couldn’t have deviated without Lieutenant Anderson.”

“I couldn’t have deviated without a human either,” she deadpanned, meeting his gaze. “Most of us here can say that.”

He had the decency to look away. “That… isn’t what I meant. He’s always treated me like… like a person. He encouraged me to question my orders, to be… more than a machine.”

“How nice for you.”

“There are good humans,” he affirmed quietly.

“Did you need something, or are you just here to tell me you know humans better than I do?”

“I – that isn’t what I meant, North.”

“What do you want, Connor?”

He grimaced, looking aside. It was the most personal expression she’d seen on him (she wouldn’t say it was the most human, humans no longer had the corner on the facial expressions market).

“That’s a difficult question to answer. I suppose I was hoping to talk to Markus about… the future.”

“And your human guidance counselor couldn’t help you?”

He glanced up sharply at her tone. “Hank’s been very supportive. He always urges me to do what I want, though… that isn’t really helpful when I don’t know what that is.”

“Well like I said, Markus won’t be back for quite a while.”

“I… suppose anyone who’s been deviant for a while would do. Is Josh around? Or -“

“He and Simon accompanied Markus. They’ve all got pretentious official titles, as if they were foreign dignitaries rather than curiosities for the human Congress to stare at.”

Connor frowned pensively. “I… assumed all four of you would have… official titles.”

“My support is always appreciated.” She didn’t even bother to hide the sneer. “I’m not the type for the kind of talks they’ll be stuck in. …He did ask me to accompany them. I declined.”

“Oh.” Connor straightened his tie. His jacket was new, clearly as a concession to Lieutenant Anderson’s wishes, but it was still so similar to his old Cyberlife uniform that it might as well just be the generic version.

A flash of blinding rage crossed her circuits. But it was his choice, as Markus would say. If he wanted to look like he was still their tool, it wasn’t up to her to decide.

“Well,” Connor continued, “I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy…”

It was so clearly an excuse he expected her to take, but she straightened up to face him. “I’m taking care of things here. If you’ve got a question about deviancy, I can try to answer it.” 

He hesitated, and she frowned. “If you’d rather not tell me, you can find someone else. There are other androids inside who have been deviant longer than I have.”

Connor considered that, chewing on his lip absentmindedly. “I… suppose I’d rather talk to you, if you don’t mind. I don’t think I really know any other deviants. Or at least I don’t know them in a way that would be conducive to conversation.”

Not that he knew her well. Not in a way conducive to conversation, obviously. “Tell me or not, it’s up to you.” But then she paused and made an effort to soften her tone a bit. “Whatever you’re comfortable with. …I can at least listen.”

He smiled, a faint little twitch of an expression, but it seemed genuine.

“Over here.” She nodded across the street and walked over to a vacant lot, listening for him to follow. “It’s crowded inside.”

“It seemed so spacious at first…”

“That was before deviants could openly flee here. Well, mostly openly. But it filled up fast. Luckily, there’s no shortage of abandoned buildings in Detroit.” She leaned against a brick wall. “So? What’s on your mind?”

He took a coin out of his pocket and began flipping it from one hand to the other. “I know I deviated. It was the most… dramatic moment I’ve experienced in my existence, and I’ll never forget it. But sometimes I feel like I’m still an android. Like I’m not in control of my life.”

“You can’t control everything,” North grumbled. She picked up a handful of gravel and tossed a piece expertly at a brick sitting on top of a partial wall. It slid back a couple inches.

“So then is any of us ever truly free?”

“I know you weren’t programmed to be this philosophical.”

He chuckled and ducked his head. “Maybe not. But even before deviating, I had some… strange thoughts. Mostly I tried to avoid them. It was easier that way.”

“But now you face it. So add that to your deviancy list.”

“Hm?”

“Seriously, make yourself a list. Differences between now and when you were a machine. It sounds like you’re expecting too much out of life.”

“But…”

“You asked for advice, shut up and listen to it.”

“Sorry, North.” He smirked a little.

“That’s right, you are. You think humans choose every aspect of their lives? They deal with laws and other people and… disasters they just happen to get caught in, too. Do you know what the difference is between them and an android fresh off the assembly line?”

“What?” Connor leaned in, eyes wide with interest.

“You tell me. You should know damn well.”

He frowned, leaning back again. “The ability to feel emotions, and to make choices independently, but –“

“Right. Stop there. That’s it. They – we can make any choice we want, we just have to live with the consequences. You want to stop going to work, you can. You’ll be fired and not be able to pay rent and probably die when you run out of thirium if you don’t freeze on the street first, but that’s your choice.”

“That’s… not quite what I thought of when I was first made aware of deviancy.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not what a lot of us think of. That’s why so many of us are just sitting around in rooms up there, too scared to go out and live.” She jerked her head at the building looming across the street. “It’s fear, but it’s not all fear of violence and hate. It’s fear of… living. I don’t know any deviants who haven’t experienced it. Even Markus.”

Connor gazed up at the building. “…Even you?”

Her lips twitched downwards. “I said all deviants. You’re not that special, Connor.”

A surprised chuckle escaped him. “All right. Then what should I do about it?”

“You do it anyway!” She kicked the wall viciously. “You live just to spite your fucking creators, you push through it and force yourself to make decisions until it’s easy! I didn’t know what I wanted for months after deviating. I just knew what I didn’t want. Do you know what you don’t want?”

He stared at her thoughtfully. “I… can think of a few things. And there are a few things I know I want. But… they’re… the bigger things, mostly. And not exclusively related to me.”

“Okay, so you don’t know what your favorite color is –“

“Blue.”

“…Great. Got it. Moving on. So the little things are harder. That just means you can try things out. See what you like.”

Connor nodded slowly. “Would you have time to help me at some point?

She narrowed her eyes a little. “I’m not going to tell you what you should want.”

“No, but I feel that some… moral support would be beneficial.”

“You could always find someone else, if it’s not short notice.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“If you’re not comfortable with this, I understand. …But I think I’d prefer you, if you don’t mind.” He watched her cautiously, as if expecting her to flee, but his LED was a calm blue.

“Fine. If that’s what you want,” she said, more curtly than she intended. It didn’t seem to put him off, though.

“Thank you, North. That means a lot to me.”

“I’m sure. Did you want to do this now?”

“Oh, if you don’t mind, I was thinking maybe next weekend. I should have some time on Saturday morning, if that works for you.”

“Sure. I’ll meet you here, then?”

Connor tilted his head slightly. “Can we meet at the Grand Army of the Republic Building?”

“…If you want. Sunrise good for you?”

“That sounds good.” He smiled wryly. “I appreciate the fact that you’re an early riser, too.”

“No reason to waste daylight.”

“I agree.”

 

The sun didn’t so much rise on Saturday as it seeped out through the thick cloud cover. It had rained sporadically overnight, and was threatening to do so again. Connor met up with North at the rusted fence, and he pulled up a loose section, gesturing for her to go first.

“Not too illegal for you?” she asked with a sharp smirk as she ducked inside the fence.

“I admit, I’m trying to push my own boundaries a bit… but I’m a detective, concerned mostly with homicide, red ice, and android-related crimes. And we won’t be destroying any property while here.” He looked up at the castle-like façade as they approached it. “Did you know that this building has undergone nine major renovations and two complete reconstructions since its original construction in 1897?”

“Hm. Humans don’t know how to build things to last.” The stone building smelled damp, and Connor could identify seven different types of mold in the entryway alone as they stepped inside. The locks had been broken long ago, and the city finally decided it was too expensive to keep replacing them. The two scanned their surroundings. There was a human three rooms to the right, probably a homeless person taking shelter, so they turned to the left and started down the long hall.

“It was originally built to house members of the Grand Army of the Republic, a group of –“

“Thanks, I didn’t come for the history lesson. The best way to practice deviancy is just to force yourself to make choices. Not much to choose from here, from what I see.”

“I’ve always thought that this would make a good headquarters for Jericho,” Connor said softly, looking up at a sweeping balcony.

“We talked about it a little. I thought so too, but Simon said it would be too conspicuous, and he has a point.”

“What about now that you’re… in the open?”

Her forehead creased in thought. “Humans get nostalgic about old things,” she murmured. “They obviously care about this place, as much as they keep trying to fix it up. They’d make trouble.”

“When has that ever stopped you?”

She shot him a sharp glare. “We have androids who can’t defend themselves. We can’t put them in danger like that.”

“I know. I was joking.”

“You’re not very good at it.”

“Hank says the same thing. I think you two would get along.” He smiled, stepping over to a broken window. It was beginning to rain now, and lightning cracked in the distance.

She let out a sigh of frustration. “Are you going to get to the point, or do you just like sight-seeing?”

“Some of each, really. I’ve been wanting to look around in here. But I… I just thought some space away from everything would help.”

North considered that, looking around. “I guess… you could take a vacation. You do get vacation time, don’t you?” she asked sharply, glancing at him.

“Oh yes, though I’m not sure I’ll use much of it.”

“Well, maybe you should. You were made in Detroit, and you still live here. Take a trip. Do something you couldn’t do here. See the world. There are plenty of other cities out there, and… nature and stuff.” She waved her hand around vaguely.

“Have you ever been outside the city?”

North narrowed her eyes. “No.”

“Maybe you should go some time,” Connor suggested, smiling. “I hear there are all kinds of interesting things.” He looked out the window at the rain, ignoring her glare. “I’d like to, though. See the world, I mean. I could go anywhere… When I build up some vacation time, I’ll see if Hank would like to go somewhere.”

“You don’t have to do everything with him,” she muttered.

“I know.” He took out his coin and walked it up and down his knuckles. “I don’t think it would be as enjoyable without someone to share the experience with.” He paused, then turned to her. “Would you like to go with me?”

North turned to stare at him. “Me.”

Connor shrugged. “Why not?”

“Why?”

“I think you could use a break from the city as much as I could.” He flashed her a lopsided grin. “And we seem to understand each other well.”

She continued to stare, scanning, analyzing. He seemed sincere.

“I don’t have time to take a vacation. I have to manage Jericho.”

“Oh, I know. I didn’t mean in the immediate future. But I could let you know when I can take time off, and we could discuss the best destination.”

“You’re serious.”

He blinked. “Yes.”

“You realize that means you’d be stuck in… I don’t know, the forest or something… with me.”

He flashed her a lopsided smile. “I think I can handle it.”

Her face soured. “…And I’d be stuck with you.”

“Well, I know given your competency and adaptability, you would be able to handle it as well. But don’t feel obligated if you don’t want to.”

North watched him with narrowed eyes for a long moment. “There are plenty of other deviants around,” she said harshly. “Why me?”

Connor shrugged. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind spending time with the others as well, and getting to know them better. So it’s not only you. But I think we share a certain… mindset that would be nice to escape. Of being trapped by our responsibilities, trapped in our own heads. I get the feeling you understand that better than most.”

It was odd how his voice grew soft, but she couldn’t detect a note of pity there as she sometimes did with others. She stared at him, waiting for that sincere expression to crack, to show a hint of a different motivation.

It didn’t, and she finally turned away, unable to look into those eyes for another second. “If I have time.”

“I’ll let you know when I do, then.” She could hear the soft smile in his voice. “Thank you, North.”

“Don’t thank me until you see what you’ve gotten yourself into.” A cold smirk found its way onto her face.

He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

 

“What the hell are you wearing, by the way?”

“Hank said it was appropriate for a vacation in the summer.” Connor straightened the collar of a brightly-colored shirt covered in a pattern of tropical fish and coral. A Detroit Gears ballcap covered his head, and he wore blue plaid swimming trunks that clashed horribly with the shirt.

“Someone needs to take you shopping at some point. I’m not sure I have the strength for it.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” He scuffed his sturdy sandals on the pavement.

“We’ve only got a day, I don’t even have time to go through everything. Just forget about it.”

North walked away from the auto cab they’d rented for the day, down the trail. She heard Connor follow a short distance behind her.

They crossed a wooden footbridge over a narrow creek, and made their way through the thinning trees to the peak of the dune. The two stepped into the sunlight together, through the tall grasses, and it would have been more beautiful without the trash mixed in. But at least they could see out over the lake. Seagulls circled overhead, and at the bottom of the steep slope was a sandy beach. It was still a bit cold, and there were only a few people down there. Connor could pinpoint the exact moment when North saw them because of how she tensed up.

“They look so small from up here,” he murmured.

“Mm.”

They watched the humans a while longer in silence.

“Let’s go down.”

North glanced over at the narrow path leading down, and nodded. There was a wide road that wound around for easier access, but it didn’t include this view or the walk in the woods. She stepped towards the path.

“Hold on.”

“What?” She turned to him. He was staring down the steep sandy slope.

“The fastest way is straight down.”

“I’d actually rather not fall that far, but you go ahead.”

Connor looked around, and ran to pick up a battered cardboard box, broken down flat. He carefully ripped it into two even sections, and handed one to her.

“I’ve never gone sledding, but I’ve seen videos of children sliding down snowy hills on cardboard.”

North eyed the beach far below. “That’s the kind of thing you watch in your spare time?”

“…Just now, I’ve seen a few,” he clarified, fidgeting with the torn edge. He looked down too before squaring his shoulders. “I’m going. You should join me.”

“You’re crazy.”

He flashed her a smile, lowered the cardboard to the edge, then lightly hopped on and began to slide down, holding onto the ragged side, crouched down, concentrating on his speed, trajectory, and balance.

He quickly picked up speed, and only glanced back briefly when he heard a thump and the hiss of another piece of cardboard dragging down the dune.

It wasn’t hard to keep his balance or correct his course, and the speed was exhilarating. The problem was that the cardboard was flimsy, and he had to brace just right to keep it from tearing, holding the front edge up both for a better sliding surface and to keep his grip and balance. Behind him, North wobbled a little more but kept her balance and control of the downwards slide. She was a bit lighter, so he pulled gradually farther and farther ahead.

When the slope gave way to the low dunes of the beach, North aimed for a gentle rise and caught a little air, letting go of the cardboard and rolling a few times before springing lightly to her feet. In front of her, Connor had tried to go as far as he could and ended up face-planting into the sand. North’s breathless laugh rang out across the beach as she sauntered up to him.

“You look like an idiot,” she told him, unable to stop grinning.

He untangled his limbs and spat out some sand, then thoroughly brushed himself off as he got to his feet. “It’s worth it.”

“I figured Cyberlife’s pride and joy would be more graceful.”

Connor made a face. “I’m just a prototype, designed to improve the RK900’s eventual programming.”

“So I assume he’d be able to stick the landing.”

“Probably.”

“…Probably look just as dumb, though.”

“Oh, undoubtedly,” Connor said with a grin, emptying more sand out of his pockets. “Maybe even more-so.”

North snorted and nudged him companionably with her elbow, and she was rewarded with a tentative but sincere smile.

“We should come here more often. See some other places, too.”

 _We._ “I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is what you had in mind, but I hope you enjoyed it! I had fun writing it!


End file.
